Excellent review, Neon. I, for one, am having an absolute blast with the game, spurred on by your discussion the other week.

You are absolutely right about the controls - once you get into them, they are very natural. One comment I'd like to add regarding the painfully slow tentative door opening motions (each and every time) - if you run while opening them, the action scene will be much quicker. If only that was in the manual...

The scenery could be beautiful, were it not stuck in the PS2 graphical era, and yes the driving could do with a bit of tweaking , but otherwise everything about the game is really fun - eve the (inappropriate at times) music, which is very catchy.

Having listened to you comments on BoT, I was worried about the map, but it is honestly not quite as bad as you make out - once you learn the general layout of the area, everything is fine.

I *am* disappointed, however, that you neglected to mention the real-time beard growth, especially given your current 'mo situation... A feature of the game which appears to be well-loved by its fans as well, I have read.

The right man got the job. I could imagine Tom O reviewing this and giving it a 3. Every single fibre of my being tells me I am going to adore this game, and I stand this review alongside the Destructoid 10 as an example of what I talk about when I say "Rate the experience, not the mechanics." Top work, Lupin!

LOL, Tom! Seriously, don't go thinking I was criticising you, because your pragmatic approach is absolutely perfect for some games. I expect, in fact demand, that you are the man to Get Gran Turismo 5. It is the kind of game that is more suited for your particular style. But this one just felt like it was destined for Neon!

Incidentally, I picked this up whilst I was out this afternoon, solely on the strength of this particular reccomendation. (£17.97 at ASDA.)

It's genuinely one of my favourite game plots. The fact that I'm a massive Lynch/Twin Peaks fan undoubtedly plays into this, but the story here eventually becomes its own thing. It's a bit slow to get going; there are a couple of cracking scenes in Chapter 1, but it's Chapter 2 where things really kick off.

I'm glad that lots of you are interested in taking a look, and I hope that you all like it. As I said, there's an awful lot that you have to see past - a lot of people will just get annoyed with it - but if you do, you'll be rewarded!